Design and Pilot Implementation of TRIKIDS: A Pedagogical Method for Circular Economy Education in Primary and Secondary Schools

Abstract

The deficit of pedagogical tools and methods that are simultaneously effective, interactive, and adaptable to local realities and specificities, to educate primary and secondary school students on the source separation of municipal solid waste (MSW), constitutes a major challenge for cities across Africa, the West, and Asia. To address this, a pilot project was conducted in primary and secondary schools in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from January 2020 to December 2024. Based on surveys, literature reviews, interviews, and field observations, the TRIKIDS educational method was developed. This method employs four progressive learning levels that provide participants with a comprehensive introduction to the circular economy. The project also led to the creation of a physical TRIKIDS prototype, which was used to implement the method in a fun and interactive way. As a result, over 10,000 children were engaged alongside their teachers in collecting 5 m³ of plastic PET bottles and fabricating 20 eco-friendly trash cans. This initiative created 10,314 sorting ambassadors throughout the city of Yaoundé. However, the limitations of this physical model highlighted the need for a digital version. We therefore propose a TRIKIDS video game, accessible online, which would be multilingual, cover a wider range of waste types, and be customizable according to local sorting rules and colour codes. This would make education on color-coded waste sorting accessible to a much larger audience.